STUDENTS of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS)-CALABARZON can now access an updated version of STARBOOKS short for Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosks, they received from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Batangas, April 18.
STARBOOKS was introduced to the school in 2018 and has since been widely utilized by both students and faculty. However, with the onset of the pandemic and the closure of schools, its updating was put on hold. Given the importance of providing students with up-to-date resources for their research and studies, the DOST-Batangas conducted an update of the unit, including a refreshed user interface and expanded content. A deployment orientation-training was also conducted to ensure that both students and faculty are able to maximize the benefits of the updated STARBOOKS kiosk. DOST-Batangas STARBOOKS coordinators, Ms. Renalee M. Leyesa and Mr. Cedric L. Rodriguez, facilitated the training.
The discussion on the updated version of STARBOOKS was structured in two parts. The first part, led by Ms. Leyesa, focused on introducing STARBOOKS, its history, and its role in providing S&T information to the general population. Ms. Leyesa highlighted STARBOOKS as a solution for bridging the gap between readily available information and individuals, particularly students and researchers, who lack access to data and cannot travel to the DOST-STII Library in Manila. She detailed the contents of STARBOOKS, which encompass a wide range of resources, including books, magazines, journals, scientific and research papers, disaster preparedness materials, interactive courseware, and crucially, K–12 supplement
materials. The updated version also offers a variety of materials, such as full-length livelihood videos from the former Technology Resource Center, scientist profiles, DOST publications, Science: Cool Facts, significant dates in Philippine science history, and new science articles. Additionally, there are extra contents from the BPI Foundation, Inc., focusing on financial literacy, as well as interactive science and math games.
The second part of the discussion focused on orientation and site admin training for both offline and online STARBOOKS. Mr. Rodriguez presented the available platforms, including STARBOOKS offline, STARBOOKS online (www.starbooks.ph), mobile applications, quiz applications, and geomap applications. Participants were urged to familiarize themselves with site administrator responsibilities, such as user assistance, file submission, content updating, and kiosk management. A hands-on activity on the use and navigation of the user interface in the STARBOOKS software was also conducted to ensure that participants had a practical understanding of how to operate the system effectively.
